Four Infamous Real Murder Mysteries

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2015 at
4:15 pm

The joy of murder mysteries is based in the fact that everyone who takes part is actually entirely safe, and by the end of the evening, you’ll have successfully figured out who the ‘murderer’ is. Many murder mysteries take their inspiration from a mixture of crime novels and actual murder mysteries. Some of them are solved by police forces instantly, some take a few weeks or months, but some are never solved. These creepy cases that even now cannot be solved have massively influenced TV shows, books and film, as well as various murder mystery plots.

Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper is the natural mystery to have at the top of any unsolved crime list. The most infamous murderer in modern history, he’s believed to have killed five women in the Whitechapel area of London in the autumn of 1888. All his victims were found with their throats slit, and certain organs neatly removed. It’s because of this that many people believe the ripper was a butcher or a doctor. For almost 130 years, there have been numerous speculations and theories about the identity of Jack the Ripper, but it’s likely his true identity will never be known.

The Black Dahlia

The murder of the Black Dahlia, or Elizabeth Short, has come to be known as one of the cruellest murders in history. Just aged 22, her dead body was found in a Los Angeles park, sliced in half and the corners of her mouth slashed to her ears. The police had suspects, but none of them were ever convicted. The prominence of this murder has led lots of people to confess to it, but no one has ever been proved guilty.

The Zodiac Killer

After Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer is one of the most infamous serial killers of all time. He operated in major metropolitan areas in the USA and claimed to have murdered 37 people. He targeted both female and male victims between the ages of 16 and 29. A lack of forensic evidence means that only seven of his victims have been identified to this day. The Zodiac Killer got his name through sending cryptograms and letters to local newspapers to taunt and tease the local authorities. Whilst no-one’s ever been held accountable for the murders, over 2,500 potential suspects have been questioned.

The Taman Shud murder

It was 1948 on an Australian beach, when a man was seen behaving strangely by extending his right arm before ceasing to move. The next day, the same man was found dead in the same place he’d been seen when alive. Forensic testing showed the man to be between 40 and 45, and his fine quality clothes had all been stripped of their labels.

When the police found him, his right arm was bent double. His packet of cigarettes held a different brand sold only in Britain and the autopsy found his heart to be in a good condition. Surgeons were convinced the man didn’t die a natural death due to the fact that there was blood in his stomach and his spleen was about three times larger than it should’ve been. Whilst no foreign substances were found in his body, poisoning was believed to be the main suspect.

In 1949, a brown suitcase that once belonged to the man was found, and there was a jacket with an American label in it. Despite this, police couldn’t find any evidence that this man existed in America. In a secret pocket in the dead man’s trousers, they found a tiny piece of paper with the words ‘TALMAN SHUD’.

Around the time of the murder, another man had received a book from which the phrase had been taken. He handed the book into the police, where they found out the phrase was missing from the pages and there were five sets of supposedly random letters in the back of the book.

Whilst eight identifications were made of the murdered man, all of them were disproved. The man, and the code both remain mysteries.